Research Overview

Researcher, Toronto Metropolitan University

Project funded by the Canadian Race Relations Fondation

Community-Law Enforcement Training Initiative

Working in collaboration with Dr. Sara Thompson to develop national training materials for law enforcement and community stakeholders across Canada. Responsibilities include designing pedagogically sound lesson plans, developing pre- and post-training evaluation surveys, and contributing to community engagement initiatives. The project aims to enhance the quality of interactions between law enforcement and diverse communities through evidence-based practices and inclusive educational strategies.

Researcher, Toronto Metropolitan University

Project funded by the Canadian Network for Security, Extremism and Society (CANSES)

RCMP-SIIT Evaluation Project

I led data analysis and reporting for a national security evaluation of the RCMP’s SIIT program. My responsibilities included supervising two MA research assistants, conducting qualitative data analysis on confidential interviews, and contributing to the interpretation and synthesis of findings. The project involved collaboration with community-based countering violent extremism (CVE) programs, and I co-authored an internal report for the RCMP.

Researcher, International CyberCrime Research Centre (ICCRC)

Project Funded by the Department of National Defence

I led a research team that consisted of one post-doctoral fellow, two doctoral students, and one master’s student, in collaboration with Dr. Richard Frank and Dr. Barry Cartwright. Our team conducted qualitative and computational analyses on over two million data points from various digital platforms, specifically focusing on disinformation, misinformation, and accurate information.

Senior Researcher, DigFemNet Network

Project Funded by the SSHRC Partnership Development Grant

Developing Scholarly Digital Feminist Networks in Canada: Resources, Toolkits, and Outreach

I collaborated with Dr. Shana MacDonald to lead research analyzing digital memes and podcasts from the manosphere. We employed mixed methods and computational approaches in our analysis. I co-authored three academic papers, presented our findings at conferences and invited talks, and supervised five undergraduate and graduate students in research methodologies.

Graduate Research Assistant, NetLab

Project Funded by the SSHRC Insight Grant

Disinformation, Democracy, and Online Political Deliberation

In collaboration with Dr. John McLevey, I was involved in data annotation and co-developing a supervised machine learning model for the SSHRC Insight Grant project. I also co-authored journal articles with the project team.

Graduate Research Assistant, Teaching Assessment Processes office (TAP)

Collaborated with Dr. Sonya Buffone on data analysis of student feedback. Responsibilities included enhancing feedback tools, analyzing open-ended student responses, informing decisions on access to feedback, and developing instructional guidelines. Co-authored a report on key findings and am currently co-authoring a paper based on the research.

Lead Researcher, Ontario Native Women Organization (ONWA)

Led data analysis activities, including data collection, cleaning, and analysis, across multiple projects related to Indigenous child welfare, anti-human trafficking, gender and youth (2SLGBTQQIA+), racism in healthcare, Indigenous justice, and environmental justice (Mother Earth). Developed an NVivo Training Toolkit and trained 20 young Indigenous women across Canada in qualitative research methodologies.

Research Associate, International CyberCrime Research Centre (ICCRC)

Office of Crime Reduction & Gang Outreach (OCR-GO) - Policing and Security Branch

Human Trafficking Enforcement in British Columbia: An In-Depth Analysis of Existing Strategies, and Recommendations for New Methods of Combatting Human Trafficking and Organized Crime

Collaborated with Dr. Richard Frank and Dr. Barry Cartwright on a project where I am leading 5 doctoral and 1 post-doctoral student in the qualitative analysis of over 5000 ads from websites that are known to advertise human trafficking and sex work. I co-authored the report that was submitted to the funding agency.

Research Associate, International CyberCrime Research Centre (ICCRC)

Project funded by the Department of National Defence II

The Dark Crawler: Combating Disinformation Warfare with Artificial Intelligence

Collaborated with Drs. Richard Frank and Barry Cartwright to lead a research team of six graduate students. Directed the acquisition of over 100k data points from targeted social media platforms and undertook multifaceted analyses. This extensive research resulted in the co-authorship of five reports for funding agency.

Lead Graduate Research Assistant, International CyberCrime Research Centre (ICCRC)

Office of Crime Reduction & Gang Outreach (OCR-GO) - Policing and Security Branch

Deploying Artificial Intelligence to Detect and Respond to the Use of Digital Technology by Perpetrators of Human Trafficking

Worked in collaboration with Dr. Richard Frank and Dr. Barry Cartwright. I qualitatively analyzed more than 5000+ messages from known human trafficking and sex worker advertised websites. I also helped with writing the report which was submitted to the funding agency.

Research Associate, Canadian Drug Policy Coalition

Social Science & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Connection Grants

Imagine Safer Supply: Drug User Participation and Leadership in Canadian Drug Policy

I coordinated and managed up to 48 interview transcripts for qualitative analysis within NVivo. I coordinated a transcript coding schedule amongst a 5-6-person research team. I also compiled survey data and output to table, chart, and graph formats. I monitored and delivered team reports on inter-rater/inter-coder reliability. I also facilitated team meetings to update codes and ensure robust data validity within the collaborative data analysis process.

Lead Graduate Research Assistant, International CyberCrime Research Centre (ICCRC)

Government of Canada’s Digital Citizen Contribution Program

Deploying Artificial Intelligence to Combat Covid-19 Disinformation on social media

I co-wrote the funding application with Dr. Richard Frank and Dr. Barry Cartwright. I managed team of six graduate research assistants. I collected and analyzed data from known COVID-19 related misinformation and disinformation. I analyzed the data both qualitatively and quantitatively. Lastly, I co-authored the final report submitted to the funding agency. 

Lead Graduate Research Assistant, International CyberCrime Research Centre (ICCRC)

Social Science & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Insight Development Grant

Impacts of Ransomware on BC Businesses

Worked in collaboration Dr. Richard Frank and Dr. Barry Cartwright. I created online survey on SurveyMonkey. I conducted literature searches and literature reviews.

Graduate Research Assistant, International CyberCrime Research Centre (ICCRC)

Project funded by the Department of National Defence I

The Dark Crawler: Detecting and responding to hostile information activities via textual analysis, sentiment analysis, and machine learning

I worked in collaboration with Dr. Richard Frank and Dr. Barry Cartwright. I analyzed data from the 2016 US Presidential and 2019 Canadian Elections, examining potential foreign interference. I helped co-write the final report and also co-published a paper in the International Journal on Advances in Security journal.

Graduate Research Assistant, Simon Fraser University

Social Science & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), Insight Development Grant

Fake News perceptions and discourses on social media and Canadian mainstream media

I worked in collaboration with Dr. Ahmed Al-Rawi from the Communications department. I compiled and annotated the literature. I wrote 40+ pages literature review on misinformation and disinformation.

Graduate Research Assistant, International CyberCrime Research Centre (ICCRC)

Project funded by Cyber Security Cooperation Program

Fighting Disinformation Warfare with Artificial Intelligence - Using machine learning to identify and combat disinformation attacks

I worked in collaboration with Dr. Richard Frank and Dr. Barry Cartwright. I analyzed data from the 2016 US Presidential election. I created a codebook and analyzed data in NVivo. I also conducted and annotated literature review.

Undergraduate Research Assistant, Humber College

Project funded by the Social Science & Humanities Research Council (SSHRC)

Toronto Policing Service Neighbourhood Policing Program

I worked in collaboration with the SSCS Associate Dean, Dr. Jeanine Webber. I transcribed audio recordings of focus group meetings and analyzed discussions in NVivo and entered data in the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). I conducted literature searches and literature reviews. I assisted with data collection, observed and facilitated adult and youth focus groups.